In late April, the housing authority operated by the city of San Antonio, known as Opportunity Home, issued notices to vacate to more than 600 households living in public housing. Notices were issued to all local housing authority tenants who had been delinquent for 12 months or more — whether they owed $1 or more than $10,000. This mass issuance of Notices to Vacate, by order of Opportunity Home’s board, was the first time the housing authority had sent NTVs since the pandemic’s eviction moratorium expired.
In speaking with Coalition for Tenant Justice’s Kayla Miranda, residents were perplexed as to why this was happening. “Some were confused, understandably so as the lowest balance for some was $1. Others said they’d been trying to work something out for quite a while but their balances were so high they had no hope. Every single ledger I’ve seen was filled with maintenance fees, many had incorrect rent calculations, others had lost income but never received a reduced rent, one tenant was the victim of Identity Theft, someone was using her social security number to work in another state.”
With such a wide range of differing issues, a sweeping issuance of notices to vacate was met with immediate pushback. On May 1, Opportunity Home held a board meeting and received an update on the number of notices to vacate that went out and the amounts of back rent owed by the residents that received the notices. A dozen plus advocates showed up to deliver public comment against the issuing of notices and publicly stated the reality that many board members were not aware of.
The mass issuing of NTVs to was extremely harmful and reckless because tenants sometimes misinterpret a NTV for an eviction notice and “self evict”, or move out of their home prior to their eviction hearing. And in many cases the NTVs were unnecessary, as small amounts of back rent can be alleviated by a repayment agreement or rental assistance from the City.
Thankfully, community members such as those in Coalition for Tenant Justice were able to distribute flyers at the properties where notices were sent, raise awareness about what a notice to vacate means means and how tenants at CARES Act properties have 30 days before an eviction hearing,and help tenants fix inaccuracies with their ledger.
However, to clarify, this organizing effort would not have been necessary had Opportunity Home’s board not ordered the Notices to Vacate to be delivered without careful review in the first place. Miranda offered that this error could be attributed to an understaffed Opportunity Home. “During COVID-19 and even prior, SAHA then Opportunity Homes was severely understaffed, meaning staff was spread thin between properties and often made mistakes due to high turnover, lack of experience, a misinterpretation of policy and standards, and simply being unable to keep up with the demand.”
In examining many of the ledgers, Coalition for Tenant Justice mentioned that the money owed was often not rent, but fees for maintenance, trash collection, or other services. Many tenants were unaware of their past-due balances in fees.
Following the communities organizing and news coverage of the mass eviction attempt, Opportunity Home fired CEO Ed Hinojosa, who had been working closely with residents, and replaced him with former Public Affairs Officer Michael Reyes in an interim role. The housing authority also announced that it would rescind all Notices To Vacate and accept all households with less than $3,000 in back rent into repayment agreements.
By all surface appearances, it seemed as if Opportunity Home had worked to correct their missteps, but community members were determined to let the public know that Hinojosa’s dismissal was a huge detriment to the work to repair the housing authority’s previous mistakes. “Ed has done what no other CEO of a Housing Authority has done before,” Miranda said. “He did not gaslight residents and the community. He was open and transparent. He spoke up and spoke out. That always ruffles feathers, especially when people in power want things to look a different way then they actually are. He advocated for Public Housing, the only program available that truly addresses the real needs of PEOPLE instead of corporations. There is no money in Public Housing, no sort of profit. Public Housing does not make enough money to self maintain and it must always be funded. That is not a popular idea.”
On June 14, Coalition for Tenant Justice, Esperanza Peace and Justice Center, and many more advocates held a press conference outside San Antonio City Hall to stand against Ed Hinojosa’s firing. Councilwoman Teri Castillo from City Council District 5 also spoke in support of Hinojosa and against the board’s action to remove him, reiterating that the decision to issue the premature notices to vacate came from the board, and not Hinojosa.
As we await the board’s decision to appoint a permanent Director of Opportunity Home, there is an uncertain future for public housing in San Antonio. Many fear that without Ed working as a vigilant advocate for public housing in San Antonio, public housing could go away entirely in favor of Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) and vouchers.
San Antonio’s affordability crisis will not be solved until we can provide permanently affordable options for families making 0 to 30% of AMI, and there is no housing program or market solution that does that better than our public housing system. Miranda emphasized this when asked about what future tenants could want for Opportunity Home.
“I believe that the commissioners should not be appointed by the mayor’s office, but should be made of individuals that work directly with residents everyday,” she said.
“For the two resident positions, they should be elected by residents and they should be well trained in housing advocacy. They are supposed to be the voice of the residents and for residents, and that the chair of the commission should always be one of those two residents, elected by residents,” Miranda said.
“I believe the other commissioners should be individuals on the ground level meaning K-12 public school teachers that works in a school that services a property, nurses that works with public housing kids, a local nonprofit developer or housing provider that services majority 30 % AMI and below, advocates, activists, community leaders, those working directly with extremely low income individuals everyday. No more than one developer and/or real estate agent. And all should have to attend training on the differences of housing programs, their purposes, procedures and how they affect residents.”
With a shifting landscape, it’s important to pay closest attention to what value we have in public housing and what could be lost. We hope to see a future of Opportunity Home that remains steady in its mission to provide housing stability for families with the lowest incomes, and one that resists industry and economic development pressures to shift to a mixed income approach.
“Opportunity Home, the organization, must protect Public Housing,” Miranda said. “It must put people first, and must not stray from their purpose in providing housing to the most vulnerable.”
